News Archive

NEWS ARCHIVE

A Zimmerman man was arrested Monday morning for allegedly threatening a woman.

Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott says 24-year-old Billy Ray Wayne Vogt threatened a group home employee with a knife. The woman ran from Vogt and he reportedly pulled her by the hair, causing her to fall down the stairs. Vogt left the group home and was found hiding under a tree near the home.

Deputies arrested him and brought him to the Sherburne County Jail. He is currently being held on charges of second-degree assault.

Authorities say the 63-year-old man was arrested Monday after the school district received several calls about the driver. School officials told police one of their drivers was apparently drunk and driving a bus with about 40 to 50 children on board.

KSTP-TV reports Sauk Center Superintendent Patrick Westby says all children were delivered home safely. Westby says the man is no longer driving for the district.

Besides child endangerment, the driver is facing charges of driving while intoxicated.

Several school board meetings for St. Cloud Area School District are being moved up.

Spokeswoman Mary Kustermann says ‘The Board Achievement, Integration and Equity Committee’ has changed the meeting date from February 27 to Tuesday, February 20 starting at 10 a.m. ‘The Board Development, Policy and Governance Committee’ will also be moved to February 20 and will follow at 11 a.m. ‘The Board Finance and Audit Committee’ moved its March meeting from March 15 to Monday, March 5 at 7:30 a.m.

All meetings will be held at the District 742 Administration Offices in north St. Cloud.

A man is in jail after allegedly trying to strangle a woman Friday afternoon.

Waite Park Police Chief David Bentrud says officers went to the 200 block of 3rd Street South just after 4:30 p.m. They found a woman who had scratches and marks on her neck. The woman said the marks had come from 66-year-old Melvin Odeen Davis of Waite Park.

Davis was arrested for felony domestic strangulation, he is currently being held in the Stearns County Jail.

Two women were assaulted outside a Waite Park apartment building Saturday night.

Waite Park Police Chief David Bentrud says just before 9:30 p.m. officers arrived to an apartment building at 501 7th Street south for a gun complaint. Outside the building were two women, each hit in the head with a pistol and one strangled during the assault. Both injuries were non-life threatening.

Officers were told that it happened in apartment 102 and that the suspect and two others were inside. The suspect of the assault was a 17-year-old male, and the other two were 32-year-old Allen Elgin of Waite Park and 40-year-old Donnetta Simson from Minneapolis. Police made several attempts to enter the apartment but the people inside turned up their music.

Police eventually were able to enter on a search warrant and arrested them without incident. The 17-year-old was arrested on two counts of second degree assault involving a handgun. Elgin was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and Simson was cited for 5th degree assault and was released.

The 17-year-old and Elgin are being held in the Stearns County Jail on their charges. The investigation is on-going.

A man who displayed a gun outside a bar Friday morning has been arrested.

St. Cloud Police say that at around 12:30 a.m. a group of people thrown out of the Press Bar were arguing with a bouncer. The group and the bouncer started physically fighting when 24-year-old James Anthony Wilks of St. Cloud reportedly pulled out a gun and yelled at the bouncer. The gun was not fired and Wilks left without incident.

Officers found the group walking west on the 600 block of West St. Germain and saw Wilks throw a handgun on the ground. Wilks was then arrested without incident. Two women from the group 22-year-old Anastasia Virginia Accardo and 28-year-old Sandi Aguailar both of St. Cloud were cited for disorderly conduct.

Wilks is being held in the Stearns County Jail on several counts of 2nd degree assault and felony possession of a firearm.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will be having a night sky viewing.

DNR spokeswoman Kelsey Olson says amateur astronomer Pat Thibault will give a presentation on the constellation Orion and about the night sky. People can also view star clusters and nebulas with telescopes and binoculars.

The viewing will be at Sibley State Park 15 miles north of Willmar on Saturday, February 10 from 7 – 9 p.m. The event is open to the public.

The Great Northern Theatre Company is ready to give you a dinner-theatre experience.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Dwyer says the G-N-T-C is ready to perform the musical ‘Bingo,’ about a group of die-hard bingo players that refuse to miss their weekly game. The experience will seat diners inside of a bingo-hall setting and offer a chance to play bingo and win prizes.

The musical will be performed at the Great Blue Heron Supper Club in Cold Spring. Show dates include February 9-11 and 15-18 with shows on the 11 and 18 being matinees. Tickets can be found on the GNTC website.

The St. Cloud State University College Republicans set up a display that depicted what they call “the wall,” a collage of posters that depict conservative ideology.

Many campus students share their disgust and outrage in the wake of the unveiling. The College Republicans president Matt Eike sits down and shares his story of the event and what some of the posters mean.

St. Cloud State University President AshishVaidya on February 1 put out a statement regarding the display, saying we must continue to be respectful and respect free speech. Students continue to call for the take-down of the display.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) - Freezer-maker Electrolux says it plans to close its plant in St. Cloud by the end of 2019, a move that will affect about 900 employees.

Electrolux spokeswoman Eloise Hale tells WJON-AM that all the impacted employees will be eligible for jobs elsewhere in the company. The company says it will invest $500 million in two other facilities in Springfield, Tennessee and in Anderson, South Carolina.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says it is never easy to hear about a company closing down, but says the two-year notice should help workers find new employment.

The St. Cloud website lists Electrolux among the top five employers in the city.

The program looks to be more fluid with the trends in the field as well as society. Program Director Elizabeth Berila says that the change will put more of a spotlight on queer issues and give students a avenue to talk about gender in a globalized world.

The name change will officially occur in Fall of 2018 but students may have already noticed the change while registering for courses.

Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman J. P. Gillach says residents in Avon are invited to come learn about the project. A public open house will be held to answer any questions about the barrier. The completed project will be a 3,400 foot long noise barrier on the the north side of I-94.

The open house will be on Tuesday, February 6 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Avon City Hall. The project is expected to be done in summer 2018.

A St. Cloud psychologist has been arrested on allegations of criminal sexual conduct with a client.

St. Cloud Police say a woman began seeing psychologist 46-year-old Eric Lester Felsch in August of 2010 for psychotherapy services. The woman told authorities she and Felsch developed a sexual relationship during and outside of therapy sessions. The incidents between the two would happen from 2011 until 2013.

Felsch was arrested last Saturday and is being held in the Stearns County Jail on pending charges of 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct.

Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson says at 9 p.m. a call was made reporting smoke coming from a house located on County Road 13. When authorities arrived there were flames in the basement. 61-year-old Charles Ampe was called and it was determined nobody was in the house.

Crews worked through the night to put out the fire and left at 4:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.